Paul Thomas Anderson

We do not understand the mysteries of the universe. With every breakthrough comes the revelation that we know less than we thought we did. Our plane of existence is beset on all sides by things we cannot comprehend, ideas we can barely grasp, and riddles whose answers lie in another time or dimension.

Imagine you’re asked to appear as an extra in a new movie. Also imagine you’re told but a handful of things about the movie: that it’s set in the seventies, that it stars Burt Reynolds, and that you just need to clap a lot during some sort of awards show scene.

It’s true that superhero films are more prevalent now than 20 years ago, and thanks to Marvel Studios’ excellent work, they’re garnering more respect for the genre. But not everyone feels that way: some critics have bemoaned the current film landscape, heavily criticizing the abundance of superhero-driven films. You can now officially add ‘Inherent Vice’ director Paul Thomas Anderson to the list of people who love superhero movies, and he’s got some opinions to share about it.

‘Inherent Vice’ doesn’t open in wide release until next Friday, so if Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest opus hasn’t appeared at a theater near you yet, you can pass a little of the time waiting for it with this scene breakdown by PTA himself, originally from The New York Times.

It’s a weird thing, I can already tell that ‘Inherent Vice’ will grow on me after time. I can already tell I like it better as I type this than I did while watching it. People will compare ‘Inherent Vice’ to the Coen brothers’ 1998 movie ‘The Big Lebowski’ and that’s totally fair because I’m going to do just that right now. Both films feature protagonists – with an affinity for marijuana use – who experience a remarkable adventure while searching for something that doesn’t matter. Sixteen years later, Mickey Woolfman means about as much as the money for a urine-soaked rug. It matters to the character but it never really matters much to us and, in both of these cases, we wind up being right.

Among all of the films hitting theaters this holiday season, Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Inherent Vice’ is one gloriously odd duck, a gift from Anderson to ensure that those of us who venture out to take in a movie around Christmas will have a more … eccentric option. The latest trailer is titled “Paranoia” and continues to keep the momentum kooky and laid back—that’s not just the editing of the trailer, either: ‘Inherent Vice’ is a more relaxed film than Anderson’s previous efforts, drifting along like the smoke curling up from Joaquin Phoenix’s joint.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s new movie, ‘Inherent Vice,’ opens this Friday. Thinking about PTA’s latest opus got us thinking about the rest of his filmography—which got us quoting from PTA’s filmography, which got us wondering: What are the best lines of dialogue from Paul Thomas Anderson’s filmography? It was a question that could only be solved one way: With a list! Using ScreenCrush’s highly scientific method (i.e. we picked the ones we liked best), and illustrated with conclusive evidence (i.e. YouTube videos), here is the definitive list of Anderson’s 30 best lines: (And keep in mind, some of this language is on the salty, NSFW side.)

"I don’t want to say ‘literary,’ because that’s a bad word," said Paul Thomas Anderson, attempting to describe the essence of Thomas Pynchon's 'Inherent Vice.' It's "beautifully written and, sort of, profound and deeply felt stuff mixed in with just the best fart jokes and poop jokes and silly songs and stuff that you could imagine." As he says, he was "trying to be as faithful to the feeling of the book as possible" in adapting it for the big screen.

The first trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's highly anticipated 'Inherent Vice' has finally arrived online, and this is definitely not your average detective story. Based on Thomas Pynchon's 2009 novel of the same name, the film stars Joaquin Phoenix as the unorthodox detective Doc Sportello (yes, really), who gets mixed up in a convoluted and totally out-there crime tale.

After his famous romp with Mark Wahlberg in 'Boogie Nights,' director Paul Thomas Anderson brings us back to the '70s with his upcoming film, 'Inherent Vice,' a highly anticipated project starring the likes of Josh Brolin and Joaquin Phoenix, and adapted from the Thomas Pynchon gonzo novel of the same name. With 'Inherent Vice' set to make its grand debut at this year's New York Film Festival, its first official look has emerged, toting Brolin's new haircut and tons and tons of pancakes.